Event cinema exhilarates audiences, while it brings in extra revenue for exhibitors. The
Gofilex Mediabox delivers event cinema straight to your cinema screen in an affordable,
reliable and easy to manage way. Its streaming technology offers extra opportunities for
exhibitors and rights holders, more than satellite could ever offer. The Mediabox is part of
Cinio, which was launched by Gofilex in June 2015 at CineEurope in Barcelona.
Gofilex, a Dutch company, has over 70 years of experience in film logistics in the Dutch and
European markets. Digital cinema has been the driving force in bringing its experience to the
larger international market. Gofilex is the partner of international distributors, for fast and secure
delivery of DCP’s and KDM’s to cinemas in an increasing number of territories. Using its
proprietary booking system as a basis for all deliveries, content is distributed via the Gofilex
ODD™ network, a highly secure terrestrial network, to the Gofilex Filmvault, a large capacity
storage located in every cinema within its network.
Being in close contact with its customers in cinemas, Gofilex noticed their difficulty in making
event cinema into a success. The company soon realised that their own distribution network
could also be utilised to deliver event cinema, offering major advantages over satellite
distribution. The ‘Mediabox’-system that Gofilex developed, which operates in close conjunction
with its Filmvault, combines the speed and ease of use of internet technology, with smart
features offering both the exhibitor and the rights holder a range of new possibilities.
The Gofilex Mediabox is an off the shelf, high quality set-top box that is empowered with Gofilex’
own software. The box features an easy to understand user interface with special functionalities,
designed to get a show in a simple way onto the big screen. For play out, the Mediabox only
needs to be connected to the projector, sound processor and the cinema’s network. Then all
that’s left to do is to screen a high quality test signal, which is always available on the system,
and all is set to go. If the event is rescheduled to play on another screen, simply unplug the
Mediabox and plug it into the equipment on the other screen. If the event needs to be screened
on multiple screens at the same time, extra Mediaboxes, which can easily be added, are
required.
The Gofilex Mediabox has a professional workflow and the source of the event is always in the
highest available quality. Gofilex has its own spot at the Broadcast centre in Hilversum, The
Netherlands. The company uses Europe’s largest satellite dish to receive the signal, with a
second backup stream for redundancy reasons. It also has access to lots of TV channels in
order to be able to stream other events, like sports. The signal is handled in the Gofilex
mediahub, located in secure datacentres. From there it is streamed to Mediaboxes in cinemas
that have signed up for the event.
The adaptive bitrate stream which Gofilex uses is based on the HLS protocol, which adapts itself
to local circumstances and straightens out possible connection drops. A 20 Mbit connection
suffices for HD content, although even 8 Mbit can be sufficient for content for which the highest
quality is not required and for those cinemas that do not have sufficient bandwidth available at
this moment. A cinema’s own internet connection can be used, or a dedicated Gofilex
connection with subsequent SLA can be installed. When two internet connections are present on
site, one can be used as automatic backup in case the other one fails, adding to a fail-safe
scenario. Gofilex buffers its stream on the Filmvault to protect the screening from possible
drops in the internet signal. For sporting events a 30 second buffer is recommended, while other
events can flexibly be buffered for (for example) 15 minutes, adding to a carefree event.
Gofilex is no rights broker, so cinemas have to book a screening directly at the rights holder. All
events are also handled through Cinio, where cinemas can easily find and reach out to the rights
holder. Once Gofilex has verified that there is a deal, the show will be made available to the
Mediabox. This system empowers the rights holder, as access to its encrypted content is limited.
The Gofilex monitoring system logs exactly who screens which content and if any technical
faults occurred during the screening.
Exhibitors can ‘buffer’ or store events locally in their cinema through the use of the Mediabox in
conjunction with the Filmvault. This can be done because a later start of the event suits the
cinema’s programming better or for technical reasons. Cinemas can also create their own
intermission within the live event, or apply different buffers per Mediabox. For example, the
same event can screen in two auditoriums: one starting live and another one hour later - semi
live so to speak. Having multiple Mediaboxes in one cinema is also advantageous as it
increases reliability.
Playing a recorded ‘encore’ event is easy using the Mediabox. There are several possibilities:
the event is screened live and simultaneously stored. After the live event it is immediately
available for one or more screenings via the Filmvault. But cinemas can also request Gofilex for
a recording, which will be delivered instantly after the event.
A red carpet event, a Q&A or a seminar can easily be recorded and played out. This can be
done live within the same venue or on screens in other locations, using the Mediabox and its
streaming technology and solutions. To record a live event ‘Gofilex live kits’ are available for
rent, which include a video camera, sound mixer and encoder.
Over the last three years the Mediabox has continuously been innovated by Gofilex and the
company now handles three events per week in six European territories. Gofilex will continue
developing the Mediabox solution and new functions are added on a regular basis. A recent new
feature is the ability to manage, program and control the Mediabox through an internet browser.
Start, stop, pause, buffer or change the subtitle-language, it’s all done through this interface,
eliminating the need to physically control the Mediabox.
Together with selected content producers, Gofilex is examining simplifying the workflow, in order
to increase the picture quality of HD events. This will be made possible by eliminating satellite
and its subsequent compression and by receiving the high quality source material by secure
internet connections directly from the producer. Gofilex is also testing 4K possibilities of the
Mediabox, which requires slightly more bandwidth on the internet connection. This will add the
best picture quality available to the box, all for the same low cost.
But Gofilex also keeps developing other parts of its services. It recently launched a stand-alone
version of its Filmvault/Mediabox platform, to be sent out to cinemas in territories where the
company is not currently active in DCP logistics.
Contact:
Cathy Huis in ‘t veld-Esser: cathy@gofilex.nl